Football Nation Preview: The 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars

If Gus Bradley can do for the Jaguars' defense what he did in Seattle, he'll be Coach of the Year for 2013, without question.

The Jaguars were the worst defense in the league at finishing pass plays with a sack or a pick; a measly 5.77 percent success rate.

The Jaguars were dead last in sacks in 2012, finishing the year with 20 as a team. That total is five behind the second lowest total (Oakland), and half a sack worse than J.J. Watt as an individual.

Jacksonville also had the fifth-worst third down percentage on defense, allowing opponents to convert 41.4 percent of the time. This lack of pressure, and lack of ability to make a timely stop, made it easy for opponents to score 27.8 PPG on them, fourth highest in the league. No opponent scored less than 17 points against them.

Offense Puts Pressure on Own Defense

Maybe it isn't entirely the defense's fault. A lot of accountability goes to the offense, which was piloted by the still-undeveloped Blaine Gabbert (9 TD, 6 INT in 10 starts) and the average Chad Henne (11 TD, 11 INT over 6 starts).

Maurice Jones-Drew missed 10 games due to a foot injury, and still led the team in rushing yards with 414. His surrogate, Rashad Jennings, ran for 283 yards on 101 carries for a pathetic 2.8 YPA. The team had a mean of 3.8 YPA, ninth worst in the league.

On offense, Jacksonville had the second worst third down percentage, converting just 29.63 percent of the time. It's easy to see why the defense gave up excesses of ground and points: they were worn ragged.

2013 Projected Wins: 4.5

Top 3 Rookies

-Luke Joeckel, OT (1/2): Was thought to be the consensus top pick before the Chiefs got Eric Fisher; dominating strength and brilliant pass blocking made him highly sought after.

Jones-Drew gets a new backup after Jennings wasn't retained, with veteran Justin Forsett coming in from Houston. Of course, Bradley knows him well from Seattle. Former Browns wideout Mohamed Massaquoi also joins the fray, after Laurent Robinson (11 TD for Dallas in 2011, 0 in 2012) wasn't re-signed.

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As a pro wrestling fan, I'd just like to say that after seeing the nickname "Legion of Boom", all I can picture is the Jaguars wearing face paint & spiked shoulder pads, yelling "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH, WHAT A RUSH!"